A survey conducted late last year found a majority of people in Sedgwick County who are planning to get the COVD-19 vaccine, while others stated they might get the vaccine and some said they would not get the vaccine.

Dr. Elizabeth Ablah of the University of Kansas School of Medicine presented the survey results to Sedgwick County Commissioners on Wednesday.   The survey was conducted from mid-November to mid-December in seven counties: Sedgwick, Sumner, Butler, Cowley, Harvey, Reno and Marion.   Dr. Ablah said over 15,000 people took the survey in the seven counties, but she presented only the Sedgwick County results.    She said the survey was taken by people 18 years of age and older.

The survey found that 65 percent of respondents were planning to take the vaccine, while 19 percent said they might get the vaccine, and 16 percent said they were not planning to get the COVID-19 shots.    Dr. Ablah said there is a “watch and wait” factor with people waiting to see how others do after receiving the vaccine.

The survey found that the most trusted sources for COVID-19 information were doctors, a scientist or researcher, then the Centers for Disease Control, and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.    Local news, national news ranked near the bottom, but social media ranked last in the survey.

Dr. Ablah said there are myths and misinformation about the vaccine in the community, and there are plans to step up communications efforts to get out the facts.  She said a second survey will be conducted in the future to find out if opinions have changed.

County Commissioner David Dennis said he is concerned that only 65 percent of the respondents are going to get the vaccine.  He said that will not lead to herd immunity and he hopes through communications efforts that more people can be convinced to get the vaccine.